introducing miss baklava granola

baklava has always been that girl and this recipe brings her essence into the everyday

Recently work has brought a lot of meat forward recipes into my life. While I’m definitely an omnivore I have been missing plant based dishes and craving fiber, lol. Because of this I’ve been gravitating toward blueberries and granola with yogurt versus my usual scrambled eggs in the mornings. And while the store-bought granola isn’t terrible, it’s been a little lackluster and honestly too expensive for what it is. I have been into baklava-ing recipes for the last couple of years, I just love that honey and nut combo (it’s come up in many a brainstorm, haha).

In comes this lightly sweet and intoxicatingly fragrant baklava granola who is just fancy enough that it makes me feel like I’m really doing something with my life. It leans a little savory thanks to the olive oil, salted butter, and two types of nuts. I use a food processor to breakdown a portion of the pistachio in this recipe into a coarse meal. I do this because I like the way it’s able to get into the nooks and crannies of the oats and guarantee a nutty flavor in each bite. It also gives the granola a pretty green hue that I love.

I use egg white and butter in this recipe which means it’s not vegan friendly as written. However, sub 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp water) for the egg white and use vegan butter in place of dairy butter. The addition of egg white makes for a more cluster-forward granola which I prefer.

baklava granola

the clusters speak for themselves

Makes about 6 cups

Ingredients

3/4 cup raw pistachio, divided

3 cups rolled oats

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons salted butter

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Zest of 1 orange, about 1 1/2 tablespoons

1 large egg white, whisked until frothy

1/2 cup walnuts, roughly chopped into pea sized pieces

Instructions

1. Preheat your oven to 300˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Add 1/2 cup of the pistachios to a small food processor and blend on medium until the pistachios are broken down to the texture of coarse sand but not so fine that it is a dust. Roughly chop the remaining 1/4 cup of pistachio into pea sized pieces.

3. In a large bowl combine the oats, cinnamon, and salt. Toss to combine.

4. In a small skillet or sauce pan combine the brown sugar, honey, and olive oil and set over medium-low heat. Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally until the sugar is melted and the mixture is beginning to thicken and bubble. Stir in the butter until melted and combined and remove from heat. Mix in the vanilla and orange zest.

5. Pour the warm sugar mixture over the oats and use a rubber spatula to evenly coat the oats. Add in the egg white and stir to coat the oats. Fold in the ground pistachio, chopped pistachio, and chopped walnuts until just combined.

6. Transfer the granola to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. Turn the pan every 15 minutes and relocate any granola that is darkening too quickly from the edges of the pan to the center. The oats should be golden and fragrant when ready. Remove from the oven and cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Keep the granola at room temperature for up to 6 weeks.

7. Serve over yogurt with fresh fruit, with your favorite milk like a cereal, or just eat it straight out of your palm - any of those will do!

   Note: You want to be sure not to over mix the granola while it’s baking so you are left with some nice clusters. Also, disrupting the granola prior to cooling completely will affect the clusters!